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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23813344">Lady and the Duchess</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustWhip/pseuds/StardustWhip'>StardustWhip</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lady and the Duchess [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lady and the Tramp (1955), The Aristocats (1970)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Rare Pairings, Slice of Life, Valentine's Day</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:13:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,970</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23813344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustWhip/pseuds/StardustWhip</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An anthology of short episodic stories, about the life of Lady (a cocker spaniel who's lived in America her whole life) and Duchess (a purebred white cat who's just moved to America).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Duchess/Lady (Disney)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lady and the Duchess [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714615</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Homesick (Slice of Life)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So! After a year and change, I'm back with a followup to my first AO3-published fanfic. Also, I've decided on what the relationship is between our two leading ladies (or should I say our leading Lady and our leading Duchess?) and their canon love interests:</p><p>In both cases, they met but are not and have never been romantically involved.</p><p>For Duchess and Thomas, things happened largely as they did in The Aristocats, Thomas ending up adopted by Adelaide.</p><p>For Lady and Tramp, they're friends but Tramp is still a stray.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Duchess has a secret, Lady has patience. {SLICE OF LIFE}</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So…” Lady said as she sat down across from Duchess after breakfast. “How are you adjusting to life in America?”</p><p>To be completely honest, Duchess wasn’t happy moving to America. She wouldn’t dare throw a tantrum over it; she was well aware that Adelaide was getting on in years, of course she deserved to live life how she wanted to. Not to mention, the kittens seemed quite excited too. Even Thomas didn’t seem too bothered.</p><p>But that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it either.</p><p>She’d lived her whole life up to that point in France, and she’d quite liked it there, thank you very much. The food, the music, the art… Everything.</p><p>Still, she was sure she’d adjust eventually. It had been only a few months since they’d moved after all. No use moping about it, right?</p><p>Duchess smiled. “It certainly is very nice here, I must say. And the kittens are just absolutely loving it.” She replied, cuddling up to Lady. If nothing else, she had her, and that was more than enough to make things worth it.</p><p>If Lady noticed anything up with her, she didn’t see fit to mention it. An opportunity Duchess took to change the subject. “Speaking of the kittens, they seem excited to go to the park later this week. And I imagine it’ll be pretty good exercise for us just trying to keep an eye on them.”</p><p>Lady let out a little giggle at that. “You are right about that. I don’t know how they have so much energy in them! Then again, Jim Dear and Darling did say the same thing about me at that age.”</p><p>Duchess smiled a sincere smile, and kissed Lady on the forehead. “I guess some things are universal, hmm? Though, let’s be fair here; they say that about you at this age too.”</p><p>Lady laughed uproariously and infectiously, Duchess laughing along with her. And for just that moment, a homesick housecat forgot all about how much she missed the only home she’d ever known.</p>
<hr/><p>But Lady was not so oblivious as Duchess might have hoped.</p><p>“I feel like she’s hiding something from me, I just have no idea what.” Lady bemoaned to her friends and allies in the dog community. Jock and Trusty didn’t seem to really understand what she meant, though, something which Trusty definitively failed to hide and Jock made no attempt to hide.</p><p>Tramp, on the other hand, nodded in complete understanding. “Cats are just like that. Even the nicest ones can be pretty shifty.”</p><p>“Shifty?” Lady raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t describe it like that. I just think she doesn’t want to talk about it. She’ll tell me about it once she's ready.” Lady wouldn’t ever have wanted to put pressure on Duchess to open up if she didn’t want to. Yet, Lady couldn’t help but feel uneasy that Duchess was hurting inside and there was nothing that could be done to help.</p><p>“Hmm…” Tramp hummed in faux-acknowledgement. “Well, if she was a dog, you just know she wouldn’t be so used to—”</p><p>“So, Tramp,” Lady interrupted, quite purposefully. “Why do you have such a problem with cats?” It was something she’d been wondering about; ever since they’d met Duchess, Tramp had made more and more apparent his distaste for cats.</p><p>She’d always seen it there, of course, and not just in Tramp. Cats and dogs never really had a reputation for being best buddies. But Tramp, especially lately, seemed to feel a lot stronger about the subject than any other dog she’d ever met.</p><p>“I have experience.” Tramp dismissively replied. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”</p><p>Lady grinned a grin more devious than you’d ever have expected her to. “Well, I just know that if you were a dog, you wouldn’t be so used to keeping secrets.”</p><p>Tramp chuckled despite himself. “Alright. I get it. Though, I think I’d be just as justified asking you why you’re getting all lovey-dovey with a kitty in the first place.”</p><p>Lady blushed as she stuttered out a response. “Well, she’s, y’know…” She dragged her paw on the ground. “She’s beautiful, and caring, and smart…”</p><p>“Everyone says that about their sweetheart.” Tramp interrupted dismissively, cuing Lady to cross her eyes and puff her cheeks out. But, as she thought about it, she didn’t really have a counterargument.</p><p>Someone changed the subject, and conversation continued as normal. Still, that seed of doubt blossomed deep inside Lady.</p>
<hr/><p>Meanwhile, Duchess was very busy staring forlornly into her water bowl at home. She just didn’t want to keep everyone else worried, that was all… Yet, keeping her emotions all bottled up was taking a toll on her.</p><p>She wasn’t stupid. She could tell she was growing more distant, and if Lady somehow didn’t notice anything yet, she would soon.</p><p>But even if she wanted to, how could she broach the subject without sounding like a petulant child? Without implying that she’d have rather stayed home than met Lady?</p><p>“Well, seems like someone’s down in the dumps.” Duchess’ hair stood up on end as she heard a voice behind her: Thomas O’Malley. “Why don'tcha tell your best bud about it?”</p><p>“Oh… It’s nothing, Thomas.” Duchess replied. It was more half-hearted than she could usually muster, she knew. And, she also knew that she’d be fooling herself if she thought Thomas would just let it be.</p><p>“Aw, you know that I know that it ain’t nothing.” Thomas replied as he sat down beside her. “You don’t want to talk about it, just say so. But, I think you’d feel a lot better once you let it out.”</p><p>“I…” Duchess paused. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to complain about a problem that she knew wasn’t really a problem at all. And yet. And yet… “I miss France.” She admitted, soft spokenly. “And more than that, I don’t want to tell Lady that I miss France.”</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“I just don’t see the point. And besides, I only met her after I came to America. What if she assumes that I miss France more than I love her?”</p><p>Thomas shrugged. “I didn’t think of that. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t think that either. But, you know her better than I do.” He admitted. “So here’s my thinking; Just tell her that isn’t the case.”</p><p>Duchess laughed bitterly, tears starting to come from her eyes. “You make it sound so simple.”</p><p>“What’s so complicated about it?” He asked. She could tell that he legitimately had no idea. And as she really thought about it…</p><p>Neither did she.</p><p>Seemingly taking her silence as an answer, he pulled her into a hug. And Duchess knew exactly what was the right thing to do.</p>
<hr/><p>As Lady and Duchess watched the latter’s children playing in the park, Darling and Adelaide chatting about this and that, Duchess spared a glance at her girlfriend and spoke up. “Lady?”</p><p>Lady turned to face her, that comforting smile adorning her face. “Yes?”</p><p>A part of her, a big part, told her that it wasn’t the best time; that she should wait. But, she also knew that she was never gonna find a better time. She would just keep putting it off forever.</p><p>Duchess paused. “You may have noticed that lately, I’ve been a bit standoffish. And you may think I’ve been hiding something from you.”</p><p>Lady nodded. “I did suspect something was wrong, to be honest.” So it seemed that she really did notice something… which, of course, made Duchess feel all the more guilty.</p><p>Duchess kissed Lady on the forehead and nuzzled her fluffy ears as she spoke softly and apologetically. “I’m so sorry I worried you.”</p><p>“Don’t be.” Lady reassured her girlfriend. “I never thought it was anything too bad. And I also thought you would tell me when you were ready.”</p><p>“Well…” Duchess started, not quite sure how she would finish that. “I am. I am ready, now, so…”</p><p>Duchess took a deep breath, as she prepared to get off her chest something she’d been keeping there for months. “I miss France. Even now, after all this time since we moved here. I miss it just as much as I did before, maybe even more.”</p><p>In response, all Lady did was blink twice with a blank expression. “Oh. That’s all?” She said, before seeming to catch herself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean— I don’t want to act like the way you feel isn’t important, I just… Do you mind if I ask a question?” Duchess shook her head, and Lady tilted hers in curiosity. “Why did you want to keep this a secret for so long?”</p><p>Duchess sighed. “I’m not sure myself. But a big part of it was that I didn’t want you to feel like I missed France more than I would miss you if we ever moved away from this town. Because I do love you, Lady, and if we had to move here for me to meet you, it’s worth it. I just wish it didn’t have to be one or the other. I wish we could live together in France, and you could see what I love about that country.”</p><p>There was a silence lasting more than a few seconds, before Lady said what was on her mind. “I wish that too.” But she looked up into Duchess’ eyes and smiled. “But, maybe I could hear about it instead? I know, it wouldn’t be a perfect solution, you’ll still miss your old home, but… I want to know what it’s like over there. And I think it might be good for you to talk about it, instead of keeping it all bottled up.”</p><p>Duchess smiled a smile of both gratitude and relief. “Thank you, Lady. I don’t even know where to begin, really…” Soon, she giggled and held a paw up to her face. “I suppose the only thing that comes to mind is how I met Thomas. It’s a long story, really. With jazz-playing cats, and drunk geese!” She declared.</p><p>Lady couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m intrigued already.”</p><p>“Well, I guess I’d have to start with Adelaide’s old butler, Edgar. One day he fed us as usual, but then we all started to feel drowsy. And when we woke up? We were right next to a river on a rainy night, all of us frightened out of our…”</p>
<hr/><p>And after that, whenever Duchess started to feel homesick, Lady was all-too-glad to hear about the food, the culture, the music… and Duchess started to feel better. Not just because she wasn’t bottling it up anymore, but because she was sharing her emotions, her memories, her story, with the one she loved.</p>
<hr/><p>The next day, Lady met up with her friends, a wide smile on her face.</p><p>“Lady? What’s got you so giddy?” Jock asked.</p><p>Before she could answer, Tramp interrupted, a smug grin on his face. “I can only assume it has something to do with the cute widdle kitty-cat. Maybe a gig babysitting the itty bitty kitties? That, or they broke up.”</p><p>“Actually, Tramp,” Lady replied with her own smug grin. “It does have to do with Duchess. But I wasn’t babysitting the itty— I wasn’t babysitting her kittens, and we didn’t break up. In fact, things are better than before.”</p><p>“Oh?” Tramp asked with a tilt of his head. “And why is that?”</p><p>“Simple.” Lady replied with confidence. “She told me once she was ready.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I was going back and forth somewhat on the order of those last two snippets ("And after that, whenever Duchess started to feel homesick..." and "The next day, Lady met up with her friends...") But in the end, I just felt like "Simple. She told me when she was ready." was a great closing line.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Catnip (Fluff)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lady, who's never gotten to know any cats too well, learns about one of the things that sets cats apart from dogs. {FLUFF}</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lady knew what catnip was. She’d known for a long time how catnip could affect a cat. Not necessarily from seeing it in person, but from hearing about it from other dogs around town. It always sounded so funny, not having seen it herself. She’d have loved to see it in person- well, in canine, really. </p><p>But seeing Duchess on catnip was way different than she’d imagined. </p><p>Duchess was normally an elegant, well-composed cat. A good mother, a kind ear, calm even when Lady or one of the other cats wasn’t. But at the moment, she was an energetic yet lazy kitty, laying on the floor somehow both cuddling and rapidly scratching at a cat toy.</p><p>“Weird to see the first time around, ain’t it?” Lady jumped slightly, her bewilderment interrupted when Thomas O’Malley walked up, a chill grin on his face. “It won’t be as weird in a week or two when Adelaide hands her the catnip toy again. But in my experience, you never really get used to it.”</p><p>“You could say that again.” Lady nodded her head absentmindedly, subconsciously speaking slowly. “I honestly don’t think I could ever get used to this. Especially if it only happens every couple weeks… Just enough time for me to be shocked when it happens again.”</p><p>Suddenly, Lady was pounced upon by Duchess, who was nuzzling the cocker spaniel as hard as she could without it hurting. “Y’know what? You are just the best thing about America! The whooole country! I don’t think I could’ve handled such a huge change in my life if I hadn’t met you. You. Are. The best!”</p><p>Lady’s eyes widened as Duchess laid a passionate kiss upon her lips. A small part, a miniscule part of Lady, was almost embarrassed by this happening in front of Thomas. And that part shrunk even further every split second, until it just flatout disappeared, fully replaced by pure ecstasy.</p><p>Lady couldn’t help but whine quietly as Duchess separated her lips. Both parties gasped for breath, staring into each other’s eyes. “I’m sorry to say this is it…” </p><p>Hastily, more hastily than was needed, Duchess clarified, “For the kiss! And cuddling, and, and all that. I’m not going to break up with you anytime soon— I mean, unless you want to take a break, in which case I will respect that completely, and I will hope we can still be friends. Not that I’m saying you should, just—” Duchess giggled lightly, before yawning. “Ohhh, you probably know what I mean.”</p><p>Duchess got up and skipped over to her bed, smiling all the while. “I love you…” She muttered as she was starting to fall asleep.</p><p>Thomas couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle, as he gestured with his paw for Lady to follow him into another room. “Y’know…” Thomas started once they’d left the living room. “When she’s high on catnip like that? She really does mean everything she says. 100%.”</p><p>“Really?” Lady asked.</p><p>“Really.” Thomas reassured her. “I mean, it’s different for every cat, but in her case? Everything she said to you is the truth. She really does love you that much.” He chuckled again. “Well, she told me that I’m her best friend, so I guess I’m sorta hoping she means it.” </p><p>“But seriously…” He said, now much more sincere, his grin subtly replaced by a warm smile. “If there’s anything I know from the way she talks about you, it’s that Duchess really does love you. I could totally buy that she meant it all.”</p><p>“...Huh.” Lady vocalized, a comforting feeling taking hold in her stomach as she started thinking: Even if she never got used to this, even if it always seemed strange to see Duchess lose control like that?</p><p>It might not be too bad.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I was considering an ending where Lady gets into the catnip and it acts as a sedative in contrast to Duchess. But I figured it would be kinda redundant, and this felt like a natural ending, so...</p><p>Maybe I'll get around to writing that scene someday?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Ladylike Valentine's (Slice of Life)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lady gets Duchess a gift for Valentine's Day.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><em>*looks at current date*</em> </p><p>
  <em>*looks at date for last update*</em>
</p><p>
  <em>*looks at date for when Woof at Purrst Sight was uploaded*</em>
</p><p> Y'know, I think I'm starting to see a pattern...</p><p>Yes, I do seem to have a habit of only uploading content for the lesbian Disney-housepets-named-after-nobility rarepair once every year. Well, I'm hoping to break that habit. I've got plans to upload at least three more stories to this anthology this year. And ideally a few one-scene four-or-five-paragraph flufflets as well, if I can. It's kind of like a late New Year's Resolution, really! ...And hopefully one that I don't break.</p><p>Also, one last thing, this story has been resting half-finished in my Google Docs for, like, a year. I mean, since before I even uploaded the other two chapters of this. So it may not quite be up to snuff, and I apologize for that.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Now, it really must be understood that Lady was in love with Duchess, as much in love as anyone could be. But… despite how they’d been dating for almost a year, Lady was ashamed to say she wasn’t quite sure what the best thing would be to get as a gift for Duchess.</p><p>And that made shopping for a Valentine’s Day present <em> very </em> difficult. Well, even more difficult than shopping for anything is when you’re a dog. Luckily, Marie had very eagerly volunteered to help Lady in looking for a nice present for her mother, with Thomas O’Malley tagging along as well for support (and also, admittedly, to help supervise, and to try and keep in check Marie’s expectations of how grandiose a dog’s Valentine’s Day gift to a cat could be.)</p><p>And so they found themselves, walking down the streets of Lady’s hometown. At the risk of generalizing, dogs didn’t often pay excessive attention to the shops that humans visited. Why would they? But now that Lady felt she had a reason to, she was seeing all the shops on Main Street in a new light.</p><p>Particularly, a light that left her terrified that she would accidentally give Duchess a gift she hated.</p><p>“I don’t suppose Duchess would appreciate flowers?” Lady asked, eyeing a small local flower shop that she and her friends had passed by dozens of times. She knew that flowers were generally regarded as romantic, why, she felt that same way about them. But, she had no clue if a cat might feel the same sentiment, let alone one from another country.</p><p>“I think you should get her a whole bouquet!” Marie exclaimed. “A bouquet of <em> roses </em>.”</p><p>Thomas chuckled, and ruffled the fur on Marie’s head. “Now, kiddo, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. I don’t think the owners would give out a whole bouquet for free. But, if Lady here turns up the puppy dog eyes, I think she could snag one or two…” he trailed off, winking at Lady and grinning at his own scheme.</p><p>Lady tilted her head. “I suppose I could give it a try. But, it does seem a bit underhanded, doesn’t it? Guilting those people into letting me have flowers?” </p><p>“Pshaw…” Thomas waved his paw, dismissing her concerns. “It’ll be fine. Happens all the time, actually. I mean, maybe not with flowers, but people let animals have food, right?” Lady nodded her head, thinking back to Tony and how he fed her and Tramp. “I think a couple flowers isn’t asking too much.” </p><p>Lady certainly saw his point. If this was a whole shop full of the things, would they really mind letting her have some? At the very least, she didn’t see the harm in trying. With that in mind, she strolled up to the flower shop and picked up two roses in her mouth. One blue, one white.</p><p>“Hey!” The florist said as she noticed Lady, who instinctively flinched at her words, but stayed still. “Sorry, buddy, but flowers aren’t for dogs.” She said gently, trying to get Lady to let go.</p><p>Thomas said something about turning up the puppy-dog eyes, now didn’t he? To that end, she thought of the saddest thing she could think of… Or rather, tried to think of something very sad. Little lost puppy dogs? A mama who’s had all her puppies sold off? ...Little lost kittens?</p><p>Then, suddenly it occurred to her: The pound! She’d only been once in her life, but it felt simply awful to be there. Simply starting to remember it was already driving her to tears.</p><p>“Oh, dear…” The florist said, putting a hand to her mouth, before she smiled warmly at Lady. “Y’know what? If you really love it that much, you can keep it, just this once. I have plenty anyways…”</p><p>With that, Lady scampered off and rejoined her two companions with the roses still in her mouth, all three of them smiling wide. “You’re a natural!” Thomas said. “You sure you haven’t done this before?”</p><p>“No, not in my life,” Lady said after laying the roses down on the ground for a moment. “Perhaps we could chalk it up to beginner’s luck?” she said, though she couldn’t hide the slight hint of pride in her voice.</p><p>“Well, whatever it was, you’ve got your paws on a pretty little gift for your sweetheart,” Thomas said with a grin. “I’d call that a success.”</p><p>With that, she picked the roses back up and walked on towards the direction of her home, Thomas and Marie following behind her. But then, something in the window of a clothing store caught Lady’s eyes. A beautiful blue and white scarf with a heart printed on it.</p><p>Lady stopped in her tracks at the sight. Marie and Thomas stopped as well once they saw Lady staring at the clothing shop. </p><p>“Whatcha looking at, Lady?” Marie asked.</p><p>Lady sighed. “I’m thinking of getting that lovely scarf for your mother, as well as the roses. But I’m not sure. I certainly wouldn’t want to push my luck…”</p><p>Thomas chuckled somewhat nervously. “I can’t stop you, but I think it might be best to settle for the roses and go home. I mean, this is a whole dang scarf, from a pretty fancy-looking store too! There’s a big difference between that and a couple of roses.”</p><p>“Well…” Lady started, hesitation dripping from her voice, “I just think it would look perfect on Duchess. So even though I can’t be sure I would be able to get it, and I know I probably wouldn’t, I can’t help being tempted.”</p><p>“I think you should give it a try,” Marie said innocently, with a smile on her face. “What’s the worst that could happen?”</p><p>Lady hesitated for another moment before making up her mind with a determined nod of the head. “Alright. I’ll try it once, and if that shopkeeper says no, that’s that. I will leave immediately, no questions asked.”</p><p>Lady walked up to the shop cautiously and grabbed onto the scarf with her paws. She slowly began to pull, though she totally stopped once the shopkeeper turned towards her. Lady anxiously kept her gaze on the redheaded woman to see what her next move would be, though the glare she was giving didn’t leave Lady with all too much hope.</p><p>“Another mangy stray animal sneaking into the store…” said the shopkeeper with a twitch of the eye as she reached for a broom. “Well, I’m sick of it! Absolutely, positively <em> sick </em> of it! We don’t keep the doors open just so you can get the merchandise all filthy!”</p><p>Lady let go of the scarf and began to back up nervously, whimpering. Quickly and suddenly, the shopkeeper swung the broom at Lady, causing the cocker spaniel to jump in panic, hastily running away. </p><p>Lady ran out of the shop, quickly picked up the roses, and ran, with Thomas and Marie following behind her.</p><p>The trio of pets ran to the end of the block before Marie took a look behind her and saw that the shopkeeper was still right behind them. “How long is she going to keep following us?!” she asked incredulously.</p><p>“She must <em> really </em> not like animals getting into the shop…” Thomas said.</p><p>So they kept on running, and the shopkeeper kept on following them, until they made it to the pier and the pets all jumped onto a boat that was just setting off for a short fishing trip.</p><p>Lady, Thomas and Marie all gasped for breath as the shopkeeper screamed in rage at the dock, snapping her broom in two over her knee and throwing the pieces at the boat.</p><p>“Well!” Marie huffed, “for the shopkeeper of such a high-class store, that woman wasn’t much of a lady at all.”</p><p>“At least we still have the roses,” Lady said, looking for an optimistic takeaway, until she noticed:</p><p>She wasn’t holding the roses in her mouth anymore. And they weren’t on the floor of the boat. Indeed, as it turned out, they very much did not still have the roses. It only took a short second for Lady to realize that in all the chaos, she must have dropped the roses she’d gotten for her love. “I can’t believe it. I lost the roses…”</p><p>No matter what angle she looked at it from, it wasn’t looking good. She had no idea where she’d dropped the roses, so there was no way she would be able to find them in a reasonable amount of time. The flower shop would almost certainly be closed by the time the boat got back to shore, and no chance that Lady could be given more flowers even if they were.</p><p>Lady began to outright sob, at the way that she’d ruined her Valentine’s Day gift for Duchess. “It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have gotten so greedy!”</p><p>Marie nuzzled Lady in an attempt to comfort her. “It’s alright, Lady. Mum will love whatever you give her, I know she will.”</p><p>“Marie’s right,” Thomas said. “It was awful sweet of you to try and get such nice gifts for Duchess, but you don’t <em>need</em> to. She’s the kind of cat who’ll appreciate any gift you give her.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” Lady asked, uncertain.</p><p>“I’m absolutely, positively sure of it,” Thomas said with a sincere smile adorning his face. </p><p>Lady believed them, despite her sadness at how the perfect Valentine’s gift was ruined. She knew that Duchess would never complain about an imperfect gift. Maybe she always knew that.</p><p>But, that aside, as Lady and her friends got off of the boat a couple hours later, she realized that she didn’t even have an imperfect gift for Duchess. And she felt that she needed to give her girlfriend <em> something </em> for Valentine’s Day.</p><p>Then, as Lady was walking down the moonlit street, she spotted a single solitary white daisy by the sidewalk. Not quite as well-kept as the flowers in the shop, clearly kept alive solely from sprinklers going off. Still, it was lovely. </p><p>“That’ll do,” Lady mumbled to herself, as she picked the daisy and brought it with her the rest of the way home.</p><p>“I see you’ve found your gift for Duchess,” Thomas observed as he and Marie said their farewells to Lady.</p><p>“What a beautiful flower,” Marie said dreamily.</p><p>Lady giggled lightly. “Well, it might not be what I was hoping to get for your mother, but… I think she’ll love it.”</p><p>And so, Lady left the daisy right by her bed as she went to sleep, waiting for Valentine’s Day morning to come…</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Lady met Duchess just about by accident, just after the sunrise the next morning. They’d crossed paths on the sidewalk right between where their homes stood, both of them clearly on their way to give each other their gift for Valentine’s Day.</p><p>“Hello, Lady,” Duchess said, setting down a clearly-used dog toy. “I realize it’s not all too creative a gift for a dog, but… nobody’s really using it anymore.”</p><p>“We only got it in the first place because of a relative of Adelaide’s who thought she had a dog. The kittens played with it for a few weeks when they were just little babies, but it’s just been lying around for years now. And I suppose I didn’t want to let it go to waste when I knew someone who might appreciate it,” Duchess explained, blushing, averting her eyes, and clearly unsure of whether or not Lady would <em> actually </em> like the dog toy.</p><p>“I love it,” Lady said, smiling genuinely and reassuring Duchess. And she meant it entirely. After all, no matter how much of a lady Lady was, she was still a dog at the end of the day. And even the most ladylike of canines and felines would need to appreciate the simple things in life once in a while.</p><p>“I got you something too,” Lady said, setting down the daisy she’d picked the previous night. “I’d planned to get you something a bit nicer, but… well, things don’t always go according to plan. So I picked this daisy for you on my way home.”</p><p>“It’s beautiful!” Duchess said as she picked up the flower. “You didn’t have to get me something extravagant. Something like this is more than enough.”</p><p>“I know, but…” Lady said, “I suppose I just wanted to show you how much I love you.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Duchess said comfortingly, “I know very well how much you love me. And I love you just as much.”</p><p>Lady smiled from ear to ear and leaned up to kiss Duchess right on the lips. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Duchess.”</p><p>“Happy Valentine’s Day, Lady.”</p><p>The two housepets spent the rest of the day together, walking around the city and simply enjoying a lovely Valentine’s Day with their girlfriend.</p><p>Though, Duchess was very confused by the way that Lady avoided the gaze of a particular redheaded shopkeeper…</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Lending an Ear (Fluff) (Snippet)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This'd be one of those "one-scene four-or-five paragraph flufflets" that I mentioned in the notes for the last chapter. I imagine these are gonna be taking up the majority of the anthology, so I do hope that you all like this idea of these little snippets of cuteness.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If you’d asked Lady where the fascination with her ears began, she wouldn’t know what to tell you. All she knew was that one day, Duchess cuddled up to her ears, and evidently she liked it enough that she kept on doing it, at least once a day. And then, of course, the kittens tried it out and they all seemed to like how soft Lady's ears were. </p>
<p>Of course, it made sense in a way. If Lady was Duchess’s first canine lover period, then of course she’d never loved a cocker spaniel before. And frankly, Lady wasn't quite sure that Duchess and the kittens had ever met a cocker spaniel. Still… It felt strange. Not that Lady was complaining, as Duchess snuggled against her ears, purring in delight. “Why are you so enamored with my ears?” she asked with a giggle, almost not expecting an actual answer.</p>
<p>Duchess purred again and snuggled up under Lady’s right ear. “Why would anyone not be? They’re like adorable little pillows that make you even better to cuddle with." Lady giggled from the tickling feeling, and blushed red as a clown’s nose, still overwhelmed with joy at Duchess’s flattery. "I'm sorry if this is bothering you," said Duchess. "I could stop, if you want?"</p>
<p>Lady shook her head. "Oh, no, no, it doesn't bother me at all. To be honest, I'm flattered that you like them so much. And I'd never say no to cuddles from you and the kittens," she said.</p>
<p>Lady wondered to herself if Duchess might ever get sick of cuddling up to her ears. And Lady hoped to herself that Duchess never would.</p>
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